Amazon
by Valeria Kementari
Summary: Witness the transformation of Ororo Munroe into one of the Amazons!
1. Chapter 1

Amazon 

Note: This story takes place before X-Treme X-Men #1, when the X-Men sail to Spain

Prologue 

Libris Veritatus - Extract 103/B8

_Retribution will be most swift  
Vengeance from past defeats, vengeance from allegiances  
The might of the Sea God will not be undone  
The fate of all is cast  
Only one shall outlast the rest;  
Only one will hold their future in her hands _

Chapter One: Calamity strikes! 

The sun began to set, its faint orange glow covering the totality of the North Atlantic Ocean. The calmness of the air and the eternal silence of the high seas invited to rest. A sole ship cruised at top speed towards the east, a ship carrying a most extraordinary crew. Mutants, self-styled heroes of a world that hated and feared them, a group of X-Men served as crew and passengers of the speeding vessel. Piloting the ship was Rogue, the youngest member of the crew, whose real name was not known even by the closest of her peers. Rogue drove the ship, silently staring into the endless horizon, increasing the speed every time the painful memories resurfaced in her mind.

"Dinner will be ready in moments... it would be for the best if you stop the ship and join us..." said Storm, Ororo Munroe, approaching Rogue. A breeze erupted around Storm, gently caressing her. Her presence was calming, as was her mood and intentions.

"Not hungry," Rogue said simply, not looking back, keeping her eyes on the horizon.

"You haven't eaten in two days Rogue. I am concerned about this... aloofness of yours," said the windrider, sitting closely to the pilot, trying to catch Rogue's eye.

"Ah just need to think, that's all, ah'm not hungry," replied Rogue, never releasing the ship's controls, unmoving.

Ororo smiled, her eyes turned white as she leaned back on her seat. Suddenly, with a speed that defied imagination, the skies turned dark, even darker than night itself, and a gigantic bolt of lightning fell from the skies, hitting the water before them.

"Hey!" Shouted Rogue, steering the ship left to avoid the lightning with a brusque movement.

A second bolt of lightning fell right in front of them, and once again, Rogue moved the ship to avoid the blast. A third lightning bolt fell from the dark skies, and a fourth, and another followed it almost instantly.

"I will continue this until you stop Rogue. I am quite rested, I could do this for a long time," said Storm, amused by Rogue's behavior, who kept rocking the ship avoiding the lightning at the topmost speed.

Despite the odds, Rogue kept avoiding the blasts, and she felt a familiar rush rise within her. Amused, but not yet laughing, she increased the ship's speed, frowning, narrowly avoiding another bolt of lightning.

"What in Charles Xavier's name is going on?" screamed Bishop, as he run from the lower deck staircase, his eyes fixed on Storm. The longhaired black man tried to straighten himself as the ship rocked in all directions, his cyber sunglasses almost falling from his eyes.

"Just good old 'roro here, trying to scare this river rat. Problem is, ah don't scare so easily," replied Rogue with the ghost of a smile, moving the ship to the left rather brusquely.

"Stop this!" Said Bishop, getting closer to Ororo, grabbing the ship's rails to prevent from falling. His eyes fixed on Storm, but she wasn't looking at him.

"I will once she gives up and stops the boat. She needs to eat," replied Storm. "However if lightning does not amuse you, Bishop, then I shall have to try something else," she said smiling broadly. She gently moved her hand towards the skies, and the lightning stopped. A fierce rain erupted from nowhere, accompanied by a terrible cold.

"You're mad!" Said Bishop, trying to cover his head, returning below deck. He knew that he could not stop Storm from doing this, as much as he knew someone had to knock some sense into Rogue.

Rogue erupted in laughter, her hair falling on top of her eyes. "Is this all? This is all the mighty wind-goddess can muster? You think a little rain can stop me? Sugah I've been riding storms worst than this all mah life!" Screamed Rogue like a madwoman over the roaring thunder that broke above them.

Storm smiled, increasing the thunder, increasing the force of the rain. Rogue countered the attack by increasing the speed of the ship, moving forward in spite of the rain, in spite of the wind, until she saw it. Her eyes opened wide as they saw a gigantic whirlpool appearing in their path. Slowly she hit the brakes, halting the ship .

"Not fair! You shouldn't toy with the water!" She screamed.

Ororo was startled by Rogue's words. Her eyes cleared and she walked closer to her friend, seeing the ever-widening whirlpool before them. "By the Goddess!" She screamed. "I... that is not of my making," was all she was able to say.

"What do you mean?" Asked Rogue, but there was no reply. Something hit the ship from below, and it rattled. "What's that?" Said Rogue.

Ororo's eyes turned white once more, her hands glowing with lightning. Another hit, and the ship moved and Ororo fell overboard.

"Storm!" Cried Rogue, lunging to grab her friend, but it was too late. Suddenly the ship began to move again. Rogue moved fast towards the controls, and saw the whirlpool had caught them. The ship's engines roared into life once more, as Rogue desperately tried to escape the whirlpool.

Ororo's head broke the surface of the water, gasping for air. She saw the boat, moving closer to the whirlpool. She concentrated, trying to stop the rain, but the rain did not respond, the elements did not heed her call.

"Stop," she said faintly, her eyes glowing whiter than ever, with terrible power behind them. But the rain did not stop. Ororo lifted her arms, trying to conjure a wind to lift her from the water, but the wind did not come, and the rain did not stop. And she saw, helpless on the water, as the boat sank lower into the whirlpool. Something pulled her leg. She tried to break free, firing a bolt of lightning to the dark waters below. The lightning seemed to be the only element that answered her commands. Still something pulled her leg again, and again, and Ororo sank, loosing air, feeling the cold water in her bones. And there was nothing she could do, as darkness took over, as the last faint glow of lightning above faded and all consciousness left her body.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: Unseemly rescue **

The sun timidly appeared through the clouds, as birds chirped and the morning rose. The sea behind calmed itself slowly, its unending attack upon the beach receding slightly. Ororo Munroe slowly opened her eyes. Her hair was wet and full of sand and she unwittingly hugged the beach as she regained consciousness. The salty water of the ocean hit her legs once more as she raised her head, heaving with her arms.

"Where--?" she asked confused, looking around. Slowly she sat, watching the pristine beach she had been thrown into. The smell of the sea was heavy upon her. There was no sign of any of her teammates around; still she called their names. She was wearing no more than a one-piece bathing suit. Instinctively she hugged herself, staring into the nothingness of the ocean. Where were her teammates, her friends? She looked into the mainland, nothing but trees and a gigantic mountain in the far distance. The chirping of birds and the buzzing of insects filled the air.

"Enough. If I am to look for my friends, I shall not do it looking like this," she said, standing up and closing her eyes. She concentrated, trying to create her personal summer shower, but once more, the rain did not obey, the elements refused her subtle commands. She looked at her hands, feeling an unseemly emptiness. Once more her powers had left her, and she did not know the reason. She was not happy. She began to walk towards the mainland, tying her hair with a band she kept on her wrist. She took three steps and then stopped. The wind changed, the air became heavier, and she realized the birds were not singing anymore. An eerie silence covered the island, save for the roaming of the sea.

She moved downwards, grabbing a log without taking her eyes of the trees. A single woman, with long black tresses moved forward, carrying a sword and a shield, scarcely dressed with white robes, which strangely resembled armor.

"No one is allowed on this island," said the woman in perfect English, stopping herself at a prudent distance.

Ororo grasped her log tighter. "It was not my intention to come here. I was on a boat that crashed. My friends might need assistance," she said.

"We assist no one. You have entered that which is forbidden to all mortals. You will now meet your doom," said the woman, moving closer, lifting her sword and raising her shield.

"I do not want to fight," said Ororo, releasing her log, which fell heavily upon the sand.

"Your wants are irrelevant," said the woman increasing her speed, starting to run.

Ororo stood still, showing her lack of weapons, her lack of willingness to fight. The strange woman screamed as she thrust her sword towards Ororo. With astounding ease, the mutant ducked the attack, and the woman struck again, and once more, Ororo avoided the sword. The black-haired woman tried once more and Ororo bent her body backwards, avoiding the attack. She threw herself to the ground, rolling as she hit the sand, and grabbed the log. As the black-haired woman thrust her sword once more, Ororo hit her hand with the log, forcing her to release her weapon. The woman moved fast, hitting Ororo with her shield, causing her to fall. Ororo grabbed the sword and stood up fast, and the woman came at her with her shield held high. Ororo raised the sword with one hand as she kept the log low with her other hand. She attacked, the sword hitting the shield as the woman moved forward, Ororo moved to the side, the woman running past her, and then hit her with the log on the back, making her scream and fall.

"Stop this, I do not wish to fight," said Storm, standing her ground.

The woman growled, turning around and running towards her foe once more. Ororo prepared herself to fight, but then she felt a small prick on her neck, and she felt dizzy and the world began to swirl. The last thing she saw was the woman's shield hitting her face, and she fell backwards.

The black haired woman threw her shield to the sand and grabbed the sword from Ororo's hand. She frowned upon her downed enemy and lifted the sword, but a voice stopped her.

"Diana stop!" said a woman with long red hair, dressed in the same fashion, walking out of the jungle.

"Why should I stop?" said the black haired woman, the sword held high.

"Your mother wants her alive," said the redhead, moving closer as several other women appeared behind her. "That's why we put her to sleep with a dart."

"My mother presumes too much," replied Diana.

"Still, her word is law," said the redhead, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Diana looked at her downed foe for an instant, considering the words of her friend. Frowning she released her sword, throwing it in the sand. "Fine. Do as you please." And she began to walk towards the jungle, as the other Amazons lifted the unconscious body of Ororo Munroe and the weapons of their best warrior and carried them behind her.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Dungeons and Amazons 

The humidity was nigh unbearable. She did not know why this hit her so strongly, nor she truly cared about it. Her head was spinning; she felt disoriented and so very tired. She wanted to sleep, to loose consciousness. But she could not bring herself to remain in that condition. Slowly her head cleared, as she strengthened her will, forcing her mind to stay awake. Her eyes opened slightly, catching a mere glimpse of her location. The walls were moist, hard and cold, and she could see she was in a sort of underground cave. An unnatural chill ran through her spine. It took her a while to realize her hands were tied to the wall. She felt the cold embrace of hard metal in her wrists. Her head cleared, her senses became more acute. Trapped. She was in a dungeon. She looked around, opening her blue eyes wide. She was alone, trapped in a dungeon. Instinctively she thought of her mother, and panic started to rise in her heart, as she realized there were no openings in the cave save a hard metal door. She began to move, to wriggle her wrists, as fear increased in her mind. And the image of her dead mother became clearer, and the loss of her family was present in her mind. Family. Her family was in need. The X-Men were lost at Sea. She remembered the face of her friends, no, her family. The X-Men were her family now. And they needed her. Ororo Munroe lifted her head. The X-Men needed her help. The memory of their ship falling into a terrible whirlpool became clearer. And she drew strength from that knowledge. The X-Men needed her help, she had to escape from the dungeon. She inspected her chains; the heavy manacles were old and rusty. She smiled, somehow they reminded her of the Savage Land, and she realized how much she missed that part of the world. She straightened her body and gained full control of her mind. She tested the restraints binding her to the wall. They were old, but they held her tightly; she wasn't going to be able to break them. "Plan B," she thought with a smile. Her legs weren't shackled and hanged freely, a few inches from the floor. Grabbing her chains and pressing her back to the wall she lifted her legs, bending her body upwards. As she ripped her bathing suit with her teeth, revealing a pair of lock-picks hidden in the cloth, she felt she was in another of Achmed's traps; she felt like a child again. Carefully grabbing the lock-picks with her mouth, she returned her legs down. She hanged from her manacles for a second, regaining strength. Ororo looked up and spit the lock-pins as hard as she could, grabbing them as they fell with her hands. She smiled; everything was going perfectly. With the lock-picks she began to work on the shackles, and soon enough she felt them click. She was free. She released herself and fell like a cat in the cold stone floor.

"Merciful Goddess help your child escape this damnable place," she whispered as she inspected the door. She knew she wasn't going to be inside the cave much longer, but every second was torture and only the knowledge of her periled friends gave her the strength to bear it. She was about to start working on the lock when she heard footsteps and raised voices. With great speed she returned to her shackles, grabbing her chains and pretended to be still under their control.

The door was opened with force and Ororo saw a tall woman of bright blonde hair, and several other women behind her. Two fully armed guards entered first, pointing at Ororo with sharp spears, and the blonde-haired woman entered next, placing herself before Ororo, followed closely by the dark-haired woman she fought in the beach and a redheaded girl.

"Release me," said Ororo simply, with anger in her eyes.

"That won't happen," said the dark-haired woman. "This is dangerous mother, I still disagree with you being here," she said, looking straight at Ororo's eyes.

"Diana, silence," said the blonde woman with calmness in her voice. She was clearly in charge. "You bested my daughter in combat, that intrigues me."

"The battle wasn't finished," said Ororo with a defiant look to Diana; with great speed she released her chains and the manacles opened. The guards' surprise was clear, and as soon as she hit the floor she kicked one of them, grabbing her spear and used it to hit the other guard. She moved at such speed that none was able to respond. She hit the spear's owner in the neck with great strength, felling her to the ground, and she turned to hit the other guard once more. She pointed the tip of the spear to the Queen's throat. Diana unsheathed a knife from her belt, but before she could move, Ororo spoke. "I hope this also intrigues you," she said smiling. Ororo threw the spear to the floor rather brusquely. "Like I said before… I wish not to fight, I hope you can understand this where your daughter could not."

The Queen smiled, looking at the spear. She looked at the downed guards and then spoke in the same calm tone. "Juliana. Take her to the Princess' chambers and bathe her, then present her before me," she turned to leave, but Ororo grabbed her arm.

"There is no time for bathing and talking. My friends need my help," said Ororo fiercely.

"You dare touch the Queen of the Amazons!" shouted Diana with anger, grabbing her knife tightly and placing it next to Ororo's throat.

"Diana, stop," said the Queen. Though she hesitated, the young woman followed the order. The Queen looked into Ororo's eyes once more. "You will find that in this place time is relative. While you are in our realm you will follow our customs. You will bathe and then we will speak. Juliana will help you," she added, and the redhead smiled at the mention of her name.

Ororo released the queen's arm and nodded. As the Queen moved away and the redheaded girl moved towards her, Ororo spoke. "Fine, but let's be quick about this. My friends might be dying or dead and I am not in the mood to waste time."

"Count yourself lucky you're not dead," said Diana as she followed her mother out of the cell.

"Don't mind her, she's just pissed you defeated her. I'm Juliana… what's your name?" the redhead said with a smile.

"Ororo," she replied, here eyes fixed on the guards as they left the cell, shooting nasty looks at her.

"Weird name… well everything's weird about you… I've never seen a woman with your skin! It's so weird… I didn't know there were people like that. The Queen is so cool about it… I don't how she does it. I'm so excited," said Juliana grabbing Ororo's arm and leading her outside the cell.

Ororo could not help but smile. The girl was very enthusiastic. "You didn't know there were people of different skin color?" Ororo asked as they walked through a long stone corridor.

"No. All the girls here are kinda like me, all the same, either blonde or dark-haired… well except for me, everyone was really surprised when I born, or so told me my mother. The Queen took me as an apprentice because of it, there was a prophecy about it or something like that," said Juliana talking at great speed.

They climbed a set of stairs; the others had already disappeared. "What about the men? Are they all the same too?" asked Ororo

"What are men?" replied Juliana with an intriguing look as they reached the top of the stairs.

Ororo felt a breeze and saw an opening in the distance, where the cave ended. "I… really, you don't know?" she said, surprised at the girl's answer.

Juliana merely negated with her head as they left the cave. Ororo closed her eyes as the sunlight bathed her and the breeze caressed her once more, in her mind she thanked her Goddess for being free of that horrible cave.

"The palace isn't far… Diana will get even more pissed since we're going to her room to groom you," continued Juliana when Ororo didn't explain what men were.

Ororo opened her eyes and she saw a pristine citadel of white marble, with long tall columns everywhere and the distinct feeling of the past, clearly resembling the glory of Greece and Rome hundreds of years ago. "What is this place?" Ororo could not help but ask as they started to walk towards the citadel of the Amazons.


End file.
